Vulnerability

Vulnerability

I am a proud and grateful introvert, so if I am honest my greatest fear has never been being alone, that is actually easier for me than being with others. My greatest fear has been about being VULNERABLE.

However I’m also a writer, and to be an effective one and to write well one must be willing to cut our egos vein to allow our hearts truth to bleed onto the page; to be entirely VULNERABLE.

The most memorable and beautiful singers, writers, artists and actors in my view generate the most powerful connection when they fearlessly and publicly embrace their VULNERABILITY through their craft.

Becoming VULNERABLE is the surest way to open ourselves up to external criticism, when we find the willingness to shut our ego down and allow our heart to really communicate. It is also the surest way I have ever found to internal freedom. In order to emotionally survive in this life, we must master turning down the opinion of others to hear, then honour our own hearts beautiful truth.

VULNERABILITY is letting go of the need to have to prove anything to anybody.

Only through VULNERABILITY can we discover our truth, self-respect and peace.

As little children we often dream that when we get bigger and grow into adults we will no longer have to be VULNERABLE. The inconvenient truth we discover once we really grow up is that in order to be a wholehearted functional human being we need to accept our VULNERABILITY.

To deeply love and be loved, we’ve gotta find the willingness to surrender to the sweet VULNERABILITY in a child, lover, pet or friend for there is no true love in this life without VULNERABILITY.

But before we can truly open up to external love, we must first be willing to surrender to the VULNERABILITY in ourselves. We need to learn to love not resent our heart for its hunger for tenderness, the relief in surrender and the beauty of innocence.

So as we unpack this word together let’s dispel the myth that VULNERABILITY makes us weak, because the opposite is true.

VULNERABILITY is the birthplace for change, and it takes great strength and courage to go there, the weak avoid being VULNERABLE but not the brave hearted.

The ability to be VULNERABLE makes us stronger for without it we lose ourselves; it is in the state of VULNERABILITY we actually find our truth.

One translation of this often misunderstood powerful word means “to dare greatly”.

To be VULNERABLE in the written or spoken word simply means finding the courage to come out of hiding our truth from ourselves and others. To finally show up, be seen and be heard, to be honest about what our heart really needs, express how we really feel and have those difficult and emotionally confronting conversations. To finally feel, honour then say the unsaid.

If we choose to live and love with wholeheartedness, we also choose VULNERABILITY. At times will involve emotional risk and uncertainty with others yet we will gain more security and respect with ourselves because we refuse to live a lie.

So why not review our relationship with VULNERABILITY? Too often it is confused and blamed for being the cause of all of our grief, fear and disappointment when it truly is the divine birthplace of everything our heart is hungry for.

So let’s give our heart permission to dine well moving forward and dare to put a little more self-love on our plate?

Let’s become willing to make a vow to ourselves and place our own warm hand on our heart pledging to work with instead of against our VULNERABILITY?

It is a beautiful and empowering promise worth making to our divinely VULNERABLE, brave and uniquely beautiful heart.